The process of integrating Romania in the Schengen Area from the perspective of the Romanian Border Police

Securing the national border, enhancing border surveillance and control with the participation of all institutions with frontier area competences, based on real institutional collaboration, is a major objective of Romania's integration process into the Schengen area. Candidate countries in the accession process, including Romania, have assumed a number of responsibilities just like member countries, rules and requirements designed to ensure the safety of the population by combating cross-border crimes at the state border. Thus, the conditions for joining the EU have become part of the Schengen accession process, member countries have shown to the candidates that the issue of free movement is a security issue, and obligations to this end have to be assumed by all those who want a safe Europe. For Romania and the state institutions, such as the Romanian Border Police (PFR), the previous years represented a difficult period of adaptation in order to meet all the requirements and recommendations of the European Commission with a view to joining the Schengen area. In fulfilling these objectives, the PFR has benefited from the support of EU experts and has taken important steps to adopt specific work on the crossing, surveillance and control of the state border to international standards. Managerial research consists in streamlining the border control process by implementing a number of integrated border management strategies, national strategies and Schengen action plans. During my research, I wanted to highlight the role and the peculiarities of border control (internal and external) that is not only in the interest of the Schengen States whose external borders are being carried out, but also in the interests of all Member States that have eliminated or will eliminate control at their internal borders. In this respect, there will be presented specific elements regarding the managerial methods adopted by the PFR on the role of border control, the application of all the essential elements and the requirements of the Integrated Management of the Romanian State Border and the continuation of the actions for the implementation of the Schengen Acquis, on the development of integrated border management.